Over the last few months I've been helping my in-laws design the interiors of a new house that they are building on Cape Cod.

The kitchen was one of the biggest design projects that I worked on, the cabinets are from Ikea. Ikea is a great cost saving option on kitchen cabinets without losing quality. Myself, my husband, my brother-in-law and my in-laws assembled the cabinets in one weekend and then their contractor installed the cabinets. They were pretty easy to assemble once you got the hang of it.

As you can see in this picture the walls are going to be a yellow.

Unfortunately, recently my great aunt Louise passed away at the age of 89.

In a bittersweet turn of events, she left the house to my parents.
This is allowing Aaron and I to purchase and move into our first house.
I loved my great aunt Louise and know that she would be happy that the house is going to continue to be in the family.

Over the next few days I'll be giving you a look at the house now and hope you follow me through our journey renovating and giving this house a breath of fresh air.

Kitchen & Back Hall

Kitchen
We probably will not change the kitchen to much right away. We might add a tiled back-splash and add a movable island for more counter space.


Back Hall
In the back hall we will be creating a half pantry/half coat closet in the existing closet and adding a small table for a place to throw keys and other stuff when coming from the driveway.

A great way to save money and give your kitchen a new look is by painting the walls a new color. Today, I'll be discussing great colors for kitchens with white cabinets.

Almost any color goes with white cabinets. I will you ideas to go with different counter tops and themes. To see what any of these colors might look like in your home go to www.sherwin.com/visualizer

Counter Tops

• Butcher Block - Reds, real red (bold look) and cherry tomato (more casual look), Greens, country squire and kilkenny, Blues, adriatic blue and candid blue, Browns, sturdy brown is one for a dark look if you take the brown too light the room will look very washed out, and finally Oranges, marquis orange and serape both of these colors are for people who love bold color.
  
• Stainless Steel - Play of the stainless steel with these colors: Blues, dignified (dark) and blue beyond (light), Reds, poinsettia (dark) and coral bells (light), Purples, fabulous grape (bold and warm) and impulsive purple (bold and cool) and Gray, dovetail (modern look).
  
• Dark Colors (blacks, dark greens, dark blues, etc.) - Yellows, daisy (bold), brittlebush (warm casual) and lemon twist (light and airy) and Greens, witty green (light) and pinic (light).
  
• Light Colors (whites, light blues, light greens, etc.) - Same yellows and greens as the dark colors and Reds, rave red (dark and warm) and Blues, indigo blue (dark and cool)

If you have a small kitchen go with one of the lighter colors that I have recommended, but if you have a larger kitchen pick whichever one you like best.

Themed Kitchens with White Cabinets

• Retro Themed - Retro kitchens are based around primary colors stick with the dark reds, dark blues and yellows that I mentioned above.
  
• Traditional - Choose one of the light colors or a dark blue or dark red above.
  
• Casual - Anything goes here its more important that the color makes you feel good, but it is a rule of thumb to stay away from dark reds and dark blues because they are scene as more formal colors.
  
• Modern - To give your kitchen a modern feel choose a blue or one of the colors that I have mentioned as cool.

Remember all the colors that I have recommended are available anywhere Sherwin-Williams paints are sold.